Air intake pathways of engines and other machines may produce undesirable sounds during operation. In some cases an end user might desire to suppress as much sound as possible, while in other cases a user might desire that certain acoustic frequencies generated by the intake be accentuated.
Intake resonators are one solution to these issues. Typically a resonator does not substantially affect the volume or actual pathway of the intake air, but provides various acoustic chambers adjacent to the air flow path through which sound may travel and/or be reflected. The acoustic properties of the resonator may be chosen to accentuate desirable sounds in the intake or to suppress undesirable sounds.
An acoustic resonator must be tuned to a specific application. This means that when an application design (e.g., an intake pathway) changes even a slight amount, the resonator may need to be redesigned to provide its desired operation. Presently, this can mean an entirely new resonator design, with new tooling, molds, and assembly methods. Furthermore, current methods of resonator manufacturing (e.g., blow molding), do not provide as much control over the internal geometry of the resonator as may be desirable in certain resonator applications.
What is needed is a system and method for addressing the above, and related, concerns.